Report from Botswana

The Vegetarian Society of Botswana is a secular, non-racial, non-political,
charitable organisation concerning itself with matters relating to vegetarianism.
The Society was formed on April 13, 1995, and registered under the Societies
act of the Republic of Botswana on November 13, 1995. There are a total
of 30 paid-up members of the Society which include Family, Individual, Corporate
and Associate members, although the meetings of the Society are attended
by many more vegetarian and non-vegetarian individuals who are interested
in the matters of the Society.The Society is managed by an elected Executive
Committee made up of of : Dr.P.K.Jain - Chairman, Mr.K.C.Jain - Vice Chairman,
Mr.M.Phiriyane - Secretary, Mrs.F. Horenburg - Treasurer and Mrs. S. Vashi
- Executive member. The Committe is assisted by a number of co-opted members
who include: Dr. V. Tondon, Mrs. C. Ndhlovu and Mr. P. McCowen. All Committee
positions are honorary and voluntary.

The aims and objects of the society, to quote from the constitution
are:

To create public awreness of the vegetarian way of life.

To liaise with local hotels, restaurants, tour and safari operators,
air lines, food suppliers, organisers of major conferences and like
events, so that the dietary needs of vegetarians are catered for, and
the integrity of vegetarian food is maintained, i.e. there is no mixing
of non-vegetarian products with vegetarian food directly or indirectly.

These objectives are to be realised through organising lectures, seminars,
discussion sessions, displays at national fairs etc., workshops on vegetarian
cooking, publication of relevant material, and dissemination of information
on nutrition and recipis etc. Besides the Founding members, the Society
offers four categories of membership.

Members: for vegetarian individuals above the age of 21 years,

Family members: for families with at least one member being a vegetarian

Corporate members: for companies involved in the food and catering
business, and

Associate members: for vegetarian individuals below the age of 21
years, or a non-vegetarian with an interest in vegetarianism.

As the Society is relatively new, it is going through a phase of slow development
in its ventures and activities. Several General and Committee meetings have
been called to discuss and plan for the activities. Among their current
ones are:

An International Vegetarian Evening is planned for September 1996
to be held in the natural surroundings of a Tea Garden in Gaborone.

There is a plan to put a vegetarian fast-food-stall at the National
Trade Fair in Gaborone in August 1996.

The first issue of the Societys Newsletter was produced in April 1996.

The Society has established contacts with similar organisations in
South Africa, the UK and India, and the International and European Vegetarian
Unions from whom some valuable literature has been received.

As we lack resources, manpower and ideas which could be implemented within
our limitations, sister organisations from the region and elsewhere are
requested to assist us in whatever way possible.

Report from Zambia

The Zambian Society of Vegetarians communicates from the heart of Africa:

Considering those who are paid-up, our membership is very small: 35-40.
Other members aren't paid-up. The members are drawn from the low income
group, who have perhaps been forced to become vegetarians due to the exorbitant
prices of meat and the high rate of inflation. The others come from among
those who have been advised by their traditional, or medical doctors against
eating the flesh of certain species of animal, and the natural vegetarians
who are allergic to most, or all meat diets. Also among them are the religious
Seventh Day Adventists and those who feel compassion for animals.

Currently, the most important activity is publicity: when funds are
available, we intend to hold public meetings/lectures at some schools,
both in urban and rural areas, to explain the meaning of vegetarianism
with a view to recruiting new members. For the urban-area audience we
are convinced that the use of video and audio equipment such as a secondhand
VCR/RCR with tapes obtained from NAVS or AVS could prove to be very effective,
as experienced by some Christian churches based in Zambia.

So, help in the provision of such equipment would be greatly appreciated.
For your information, Zambia covers an area of 290587 sq. miles and is
said to be greater than the combined area of France, Belgium, The Netherlands
and Switzerland, with many animal sancturies. In these places poachers
go to hunt and kill the elephant, the rhino, the lechwe and many other
species for various reasons. We therfore feel that with a strong vegetarian
movement, Zambia could be educated enough to appreciate the importance
of animal rights and again become one of the largest and most beautiful
game sancturies in Africa. However, what we need is assistance in every
way possible.